The Angel's Share - Bourbon Barrel-Aged | The Lost Abbey

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Notes / Commercial Description:
Down in Kentucky and across the pond in Scotland, distillers who age their whiskeys for many years refer to the evaporation of the spirits from their barrels as “The Angel’s Share.” We couldn’t agree more. Each time a barrel is filled, a measure of liquid seeps into the oak and is lost for good.This striking Strong Ale is brewed with copious amounts of Caramel malt to emphasize the vanilla and oak flavors found in freshly emptied bourbon or brandy barrels. The beer spends a year in oak before it is packaged for release.

This one pours up a very dark brown color with a slight golden tint, at the edges. A small-ish tan colored head forms and dissipates to a thin, spotty surface covering film. The lacing is in spots, which slowly slide down the side of the glass, through the oiliness, to the liquid.
A slightly better head would get this one a perfect appearnace score...lost .5 for the small head.

Good god, I love the smell of this one! Bourbon notes are all up in your face. Not bashful about it, at all. I love that!
The wonderful part is that you can also easily find massive oakiness and vanilla notes. Along with brown sugar, toasted caramel and black strap molasses notes. There's some kind of dark fruit sweetness buried in there, as well.

Roasted malt notes blend with vanilla, oak and bourbon, to create something wonderfully delicious. Nice....
Dark and golden brown sugars both play here, along with that molasses that was spotted in the nose. The caramel has gone down deep, but the dark fruit presence has come up a tad bit. Definite hints of dates and a light fig taste.
The booziness does not hide itself inside of this one. You feel and taste every bit of the 12%abv, and it's oh so good!

This body is thick. Not quite Dark Lord thick, but possibly the closest that I've yet found. Very oily and viscous. The low level of carbonation is perfectly set for keeping this one just active enough.

Okay, as much as I love it, the in-your-face booziness of this one does not lend itself to extreme drinkability. Other than that though, it has great flavor and amazing body, meaning that I'd never turn this one away.
Delicious! Totally worth the effort that it took me to finally land one of these.

L: Poured nearly still, dark brown with a thin head quick to dissipate - opened with a pathetic little "pop"
A: Bourbon, vanilla, heat
T: Sweet, dark fruit
M: not impressive, thin for style, no carb, hot
O: A very good beer that could've been great with some carbonation

The aroma is a bit restrained due to the obvious lack of carbonation, but it's still quite impressive with smooth bourbon notes on top of toffee, nuts, oak and vanilla. Lovely hints of vinous fruits.

The flavor is sweet and warming. Perfect integration between the bourbon and the malty backbone. Notes of vanilla, nuts and oak blend wonderfully with caramel malts, toffee and leather. Ends warming with notes of alcohol, bourbon and dried fruits.

Full-bodied and smooth but it feels a bit dull in the mouth as it is as flat as [insert something that makes a dirty joke out of this].

No pop whatsoever upon pulling the sad cork out. Pours dark brown with maybe a trace of foam around the edges. The aroma is the only saving grace with this beer. It's very bourbony with traces of molasses, maple, vanilla extract, and sharp alcohol. There is no way in hell I could drink a bottle of this flat, boozy, utter mess of a beer. The taste is packing some serious heat along with some of the aforementioned aromas coming through in the taste, but the mouthfeel flat out sucks and I can't believe The Lost Abbey is still letting stores sell this flat bourbon water. Sorry, no good.

It's difficult to write an appropriate description of a transcendental experience. This divine concoction changed my perspective on what beer could be. It offers every bit of complexity of a great wine melded with the deep satisfaction of a superb beer. Most barleywines seem to be overly sweet or harshly alcoholic but the balance in this beer is tremendous. Do whatever you can to secure some of this incredible beer.

2008 vintage 375ml bottle. Pours into my glass a deep dark rich brown with a inch of creamy bubbly light tan head on top as well. The cork popped quite loudly here and I was glad I had a glass nearby! Aromas start with a deep, rich roasted maltiness with raisins, figs, dark fruit, caramel and molasses all in play. Enticing and flowing trails of vanilla and bright, woody oak accents. Big bourbon wafts up into the nose.

First sip brings a lush, somewhat sweet rich maltiness that is lightly roasted. Notes of raisins, cocoa, brown sugar and caramelized sugars. Vibrant vanilla flavors cavort with hints of dark fruits. As it flows down woody oak flavors kiss the palate and make me envision barrels of this amazing beer lying patiently at wait in the Lost Abbey brewery waiting for just the right moment to be released from its wooden confinement. Smooth bourbon shines through on the finish and the alcohol is nearly non-existent here. A deeply complex and insanely tasty brew.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and has somewhat of a creaminess to it as well. This is quite carbonated and personally I think the carbonation is a little overdone here. Overall though, it's intensely complex, warming and contemplative. Definitely a sipper, but one I could sip all night. An amazing beer that I would recommend any day of the week!

I did not expect that. I did not expect this to be so good. I don't know why. I just came in with low standards and was blown away. This is easily one of my favorite beers now. Had on tab, and I own bottles of the 2011 and 2013 vintages; I'm looking forward to opening these.

A - Not too impressive for a world class beer. Dark, thin, a hint of red rose and maroon coloring when held up to the light.

S - Roses, sweet bourbon, dark cherries, a little stout smell. Instantly knew my expectations were about to be destroyed when I smelled this one.

T - This took me to another place. Ripped me from reality. Tastes about as good as it smells. If you let it fall to the sides of your tongue you taste the bourbon. Sweet, home-made chocolate. Almost a stout flavor as well. This tastes great. EDIT: Oh, a little bit of port. I noticed this when I was writing the "Overall" rating up.

M - Slightly sticky. Some spilled over the side of the glass and felt just as sticky on my glass as it did in my mouth. Runs straight over the tongue and into the back of your throat, almost challenges you to put it in a shot glass and throw one back.

O - Very impressed. If you can find a bottle under $15, I would recommend picking it up. Easy buy. I could drink this all night, and it is the perfect post-dinner beer, like a port. Easy to drink despite how chewy it is to me. One of my favorite beers.

Because of Angel's Share on tap, I picked up 2 bottles (2011, 2013), and a bottle of 2011 Deliverance, which I am excited to try.